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One Woman's Opinion
Welcome to “One Woman’s Opinion,” a long term feature of the Southside Sentinel, written by Urbanna resident Mary Wakefield Buxton. Traditionally a humorist, Mary has written a column on all subjects and sometimes in very serious vein. Along with writing a column for the Sentinel since 1984, she is also author of 15 books about life and love in Tidewater, Virginia. Click here for available books.
Urbanna’s ‘big brass’ boundary brouhaha: Part 5
Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4
Part 5
The prayers of writers are sometimes answered even though they don’t necessarily attend church services. And so the very next day a terrible storm hit Nimcock County tearing across the land, uprooting trees and taking off roofs of many houses. And most conveniently helping Merrypen find a way out of the “big brass” boundary...
Urbanna’s ‘big brass’ boundary brouhaha: Part 4
Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3
Part 4
By now everyone in the charming town of Nimcock had taken sides. Who could not take a side? Everyone was talking...
Urbanna’s ‘big brass’ boundary brouhaha: Part 3
Part 1 • Part 2
Part 3
The lawyers had been selected, the distinguished Ronald E. Widget (who some in the county felt was totally unscrupulous) and the candy Enos F....
The ‘big brass’ boundary brouhaha continues
Part 1
Part 2
A week or two passed by with not much more interchange between the Army and the Navy much to Nimcock’s relief. No one liked blow-ups between neighbors...
The ‘big brass’ boundary brouhaha
(Editor’s note: Before passing away this month, “One Woman’s Opinion” columnist Mary Wakefield Buxton completed a special five-part series, “The Nimcock Chronicles.” The following column is the first in...
One Woman's Opinion
A Great Lakes Odyssey — Part 6
Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5
Reuniting with Grandfather’s ‘Good Ship Tobermory’ on its 100th birthday
Walking through the “freighter museum” at Sault Historic Sites in the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., with Dennis and Tunee Dougherty, the owners and restorers of my...
A Great Lakes Odyssey — Part 5
Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4
Reuniting with Grandfather’s ‘Good Ship Tobermory’ on its 100th birthday
Dennis Dougherty of Sault Ste Marie, Mich., spent many years fondly looking out at the “Champion,” (F.W. Wakefield’s dream ship “Tobermory II” that he had designed and built according...
A Great Lakes Odyssey — Part 4
Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3
Reuniting with Grandfather’s ‘Good Ship Tobermory’ on its 100th birthday
We had made it as far as Lansing, Mich., by air and now needed to travel by car to Sault Ste. Marie, where the old “Tobermory II,” now named...
A Great Lakes Odyssey — Part 3
Part 1 • Part 2
Reuniting with Grandfather’s beloved ‘Tobermory II’ ship on its 100th birthday
My grandfather, F.W. Wakefield, may have built an iron ship to last 100 years, but he did not do as well. He passed away in 1934 at age 71.
The...
A Great Lakes Odyssey — Part 2
Part 1
Reuniting with Grandfather’s ‘Good Ship Tobermory’ on its 100th birthday
I never knew my grandfather, but family tales of him coming to America from Birmingham, England, with his parents in 1872 at the age of 12 were well known to my generation and...
A Great Lakes Odyssey — Part 1
Reuniting with Grandfather’s ‘Good Ship Tobermory’ on its 100th birthday
URBANNA — I guess one might say it was like making a pilgrimage to Canterbury or Jerusalem. Or waking up as a child on Christmas morning and first seeing the array of gifts Santa...
‘Oyster Fest provides decades of memories’
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7,
Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15
It occurred to me that this year’s Urbanna Oyster Festival was my 40th. That’s a lot of enjoyment of this popular festival and certainly gains a position in...
Wooden Boatbuilding Week in D’ville was fun!
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7,
Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14
URBANNA — Every summer the Deltaville Maritime Museum offers a family wooden boat-building camp. The program is offered over a one-week period in the summer and it always seemed...
Dog Friends group morphs to Middlesex Pet Friends for Life
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13
URBANNA - There are many dog lovers in Middlesex County. Something here attracts people who love dogs. Perhaps it is the plentiful creeks, rivers and bay areas that bring dog...
Red alert! Father falls in love not long after wife’s passing
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12
URBANNA — Just as life was settling down in Middlesex County and the days were humming along pretty well, Mother and Father moved from their home in Ohio to this area.
They...
River rescue and a tale of two wallets
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11
URBANNA — It was one of those rare warm, sunny days in Urbanna one February many decades ago when we decided to go sailing. The temperature had hit 75 and we felt...
Sixty-first anniversary triggers rich memories
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10
URBANNA — Two dinosaurs living in Middlesex County celebrated a 61st wedding anniversary in August. Not very exciting news, but we two dinosaurs are very proud of our long-term marriage.
We celebrated by sharing...
More News
Golf carts may roll in Deltaville
Deltaville representative Randy Crittenden informed supervisors that residents on Lovers Lane and adjoining streets...
Fireball consumes truck on Route 17
A truck pulling a large camper was destroyed by fire this week near Church...
Marine industrial park eyed for Deltaville
The Middlesex County Economic Development Authority (EDA) will apply for a “GO Virginia” planning...
Cadillac strikes man on Route 17
A pedestrian struck by a vehicle on U.S. Route 17 on Monday was airlifted...
